Everlasting
by SimmyC
Summary: Hina returns and reveals a secret that will greatly change the lives at the Hinata Sou. Chapter 1 EDITED for major grammar errors.
1. Chapter 1

-1-Everlasting – A Love Hina Story

-It started off as a typo on Hawk's The Fanfiction Forum. That blossomed, into the 'wonderful' fic you see before you. Thanks Alzrius for making that typo:-P

-Also thanks for suggestions and comments from GenocideHeart, Fatuous One, Hawk, Israfel, SMWhat, runestar, Dark Knight Gafgar, Eagle Ceres, Mighty Bob, Terdwilicker, Moshulel, Random1377, toraneko, Dubrichius, and anyone else I forgot to mention here from TFF. All of you rock!

-Basic premise, Hina has something to tell Keitaro, what is it, and how does it change the Hinata Sou? ;-)

-Standard Disclaimer, I do not own Love Hina. And if you continue to read, you'll see why that would be a good thing. :-P

* * *

Hinata Sou - Hallway

Another cool quiet morning in Hinata, a small town on the outskirts of Tokyo, where nothing out of the ordinary ever seemed to happen.

"PERVERT!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

…well, in a town where this is a common sight, it certainly isn't 'out of the ordinary'.

"Stupid Keitaro!" Naru said incensed. Her fist was still shaking after what Keitaro tried to do to her. "How dare he tried to grab a feel! Pervert!" Grab a feel of her ample bosom. Well, ample compared to just a few of the guest here granted (obviously Kitsune beats her here by a mile in this category). But still, it was something that no man should be doing to her… yet.

"You sure he tried to grab your boob Naru?" Haruka said behind her, startling the aspiring Todai hopeful. "I mean, you sure it wasn't the fact that there was a spill from Su's drink when she was doing cartwheels with it. At the very moment he came walking into the room?"

"…" Naru's anger slowly began to dissipate. However, she refused to back down from her accusation. "Well, that could be true. But… I'm sure he planned it all anyways."

Haruka took a puff from her cigarette before she raised her hand in defeat. Then, a voice spoke up behind her.

"Been a while since I've been here." An old, nearly horse, voice said.

Naru shot her head towards the sound of the voice. "Grandma Hina?"

Haruka slowly turned her head back. If she was shocked or stunned by Hina's sudden appearance, it was not shown on her face. "So, you decided to reappear now?"

Hina shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I couldn't find what I was looking for." She said as she stared at Haruka with a cold piercing glace. "But besides that, I have been putting this off for far too long. I have something to tell everyone here, particularly Keitaro." Hina swept her head from side to side. "Speaking of Keitaro, where is he?"

"Doing a little sightseeing from the air." Haruka offhandedly mentioned. "But he'll be back in a few minutes."

"Good." Hina nodded. She then turned to Naru who was still too stunned by the sudden reappearance of the Hinata Sou's true owner and previous manager to do anything. After all, she left everything up to Keitaro when she went on some wild trip around the world to try out all of the hot springs in the world. "Naru, please call everyone into the main room. I'll wait for Keitaro to arrive first before I make my announcement."

"Very well." Haruka nodded. She waited for Hina to leave before she turned to Naru. "You heard the girl, gather everyone into the main room. She has an important announcement to make."

Naru blinked a few times before she realized that Haruka was speaking to her. "Huh? Oh yeah. I'll get them…" That was when she realized something odd about the way Haruka addressed Hina. 'Girl? Why would Haruka call Hina a girl? Bah! Maybe that is Haruka's way of making Hina feel better about her age! But… she isn't in the room at the moment…'

"Well?" Haruka said, as she was tapping her foot impatiently.

"Ah!" Naru sounded, startled out of her musing. "Okay! I'll get them!"

Haruka let out a long stream of smoke from her mouth. "Well, it was going to come out eventually." She said as she made her way to the main room.

-Later…

Stairway up to the Hinata Sou

"Must've caught her on an off day." Keitaro said as he moped back up the steps. "Usually I land past the park." As he slowly approached the top of the stairs, he noticed someone waiting for him. Someone that he had a major crush on, and who happened to have been the perpetrator of his flight across town. "Naru?"

"Took you long enough." Naru said with her arms crossed. She glared at Keitaro with a serious expression.

"Took me long enough? Well it took me a while to get down from the tree." Keitaro said in his defense. He picked a few leaves off his sweater to emphasis the point. "And than I fell on this wo… I mean I hit the hard ground!" Keitaro lightly chuckled hoping that Naru didn't catch what he was trying to say. While he hated lying to Naru, at the same time, he just returned from one of Naru's trips. He did not feel walking up the stairs a second time today.

"Pddt. Whatever." Naru said as she narrowed her eyes. "I noticed the ground must've somehow made that huge red mark on your face that looks suspiciously like a hand. I'm pretty sure I didn't do that."

"But but but…" Keitaro frantically waved his arms ahead of him as he realized he had been exposed. "I didn't mean it! It was Chizuru anyways! She, you know, doesn't well… not interested in…"

Naru slapped her forehead. "Stop before you dig yourself an even deeper hole Keitaro!" Naru took a deep breath before continuing. "Anyways, that's not important right now Keitaro." Naru's deadly tone was replaced with a more somber one. "Grandma Hina is here."

"Grandma…?" Keitaro's terror was quickly replaced by at first hope. Hope that maybe, some questions about his situation could finally be answered. "Than that means that she… she…" Keitaro than saw Naru's expression, an expression that did not convey joy. A sinking feeling washed over him. "Naru? Why is she here? What did she say?"

Naru quickly frowned by Keitaro's questions. "Hey! Don't look at me like that idiot! Besides…" She turned her head back. "She hasn't made her announcement yet since she was waiting for you."

"Oh." Keitaro simply said as he gulped. 'What could Grandma Hina want? The last he heard of her was when she wanted to give Keitaro the management duties of the Hinata Sou while she was away. There has been speculation that she would give him ownership of the dorm if he gets into Todai. But, well, that part has yet to be fulfilled and...'

"Well? Don't you want to hear the announcement or not?!" Naru said in a dark tone. "Hurry up and get in!"

"Ah! Yeah! Yeah! I want to hear it!" Keitaro said as he raced up the last remaining steps and entered the Hinata Sou, awaiting his fate. In the back of his mind, he had a bad feeling about what was to come. But whatever Grandma Hina had to say, it could not be as bad as pissing off Naru for the second time today.

Right?

Hinata Sou - Main Room

"What do you think is going on?" Kitsune whispered to Naru.

"I don't know." Naru whispered back. "I mean, out of the blue, she comes back and tells everyone to meet up here in the main room."

"And who's that girl behind her?" Kitsune continued to whisper into Naru's ear, indicating to the Goth girl with the strange cat. "I mean, I've never seen her before."

"Beats me." Naru whispered back in as low of a tone as she could make. "She entered right after Hina did. Maybe she's one of her servants or something."

"You know girls, if you want to talk about me and my 'granddaughter' like that…" Hina grinned at Naru and Kitsune. Both stiffened at the sudden sound of her voice. "Do it when I'm not in sight."

Naru and Kitsune began sweating. "Okay!" Both quickly nodded.

"Well we know her hearing hasn't deteriorated any." Motoko whispered to Su.

"You know, even I can hear that." The longhaired Goth girl said. Causing Motoko to stiffen. "Really, are you all really that dumb?"

"Yes! I mean NO! I mean…" Motoko's composure began to falter. "I was just um…"

"That's enough." Hina said waving Motoko away. "And yes, my hearing is excellent for my age. But…" Hina began quivering.

The girl standing behind Hina looked at her watch and narrowed her eyes impatiently. "The red headed girl, you said that oniichan has arrived at the Hinata Sou. So where is oniichan?"

Naru raised her arms. "Something about cleaning up a cut on his forehead. He'll be here in a few minutes."

"Anoooo…" Shinobu let out slightly worried. "I hope it isn't serious!"

"Of course it isn't serious!" Naru quickly crossed her arms and fumed. "This is Keitaro we're talking about!"

"Cleaning a cut?" The Goth girl frowned. "I wonder how he got that?"

"It doesn't matter!" Su said doing cartwheels on the floor. "He's indestructible!"

"Hehehe. Yup!" Kitsune raised her fist in triumph. "That's our Keitaro!"

The Goth girl's frown suddenly shifted to a smirk. "Really?"

'Something about that smile is pissing me off.' Naru thought as she heard the sound of someone coming down the steps.

Keitaro apprehensively stared into the room. Sure enough, everyone had been assembled. Motoko, Kitsune, Su, Shinobu, and even Naru were all bunched together in one corner of room. Apparently they were all too scared of Grandma Hina's presence to sit close by her. Keitaro wasn't sure why this would be the case. It was just Grandma Hina right? Sure Keitaro himself was scared being in her presence since, she is his grandmother. But they have no reason to be scared of her right? With that being said, Keitaro gulped when his eyes made contact with his grandmother. Something about them was… different. 'Whatever she had to say, must be pretty important. Maybe she came to her senses and decided to NOT make me the manager of the Hinata Sou! Oh please don't let it be bad! Don't let it be bad!' He then scanned the room again and noticed that Haruka was standing on the opposite corner of the room. He also noticed his 'sister' standing just behind Grandma Hina.

Keitaro weakly raised his hand and waved at his grandmother. "Grandma Hina! It's… been a while since I've seen you. And um… you too Kanako."

"It has been oniichan!" Kanako smiled.

"Oniichan?" Naru blinked. "Wait, Keitaro, you had a sister?"

"We'll fill everyone in later. However, there is something I must address Keitaro about. It's been a whil…" **Cough** **Cough****Cough**! Hina's dry bone shaking coughs rang echoed through the Hinata Sou.

Keitaro's heart began beating rapidly. "Grandma?"

Hina slowly sat down on the couch behind her with Kanako helping her sit down.

"Thank you Kanako." Grandma Hina took a deep long breath.

"Grandma!" Keitaro loud voice was laced with fear. "Are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"I can hear you perfectly Keitaro, and I've already been there..." Hina quietly said.

Keitaro froze when he heard. "GRAND…"

**WHACK!** Haruka whacked Keitaro over the head. "Listen to Hina, Keitaro. She said she could hear you perfectly. You don't want to 'scare' her to death now do you?"

Hina quietly laughed. "You certainly have a way with words Haruka." Her smile quickly fades. "Yes you do."

"Hmph." Haruka said, retracting the fan from Keitaro's head. "Now Hina, continue. I'm sure everyone is eagerly awaiting what you have to say."

Keitaro rubbed the back of his head as he slowly sat down on the couch across from Grandma Hina. He held his breath as he waited for the announcement Hina was going to say.

After recomposing herself, Hina looked directly into Keitaro's eyes, and began to speak. "Keitaro, as you, and everyone else here was well aware, I've been on a trip around the world, visiting every hot spring I came across."

Keitaro quickly nodded.

"That…" Hina lowered her head before she continued. "Isn't the full truth."

"Eh?" Keitaro gulped.

"You see Keitaro I've…" Hina paused before continuing. "I've also been looking for the fountain of youth."

"Fountain of youth?" Keitaro repeated. "Well, I guess you want to recapture your youth and all… heheheh." He quickly rubbed the back of his head agitated. "But what does…"

"Let me continue Keitaro." Hina sat back quickly. "You see, my time is short…"

"Huh!" Keitaro's breath was caught in his throat. This was the one thing he was dreading. He knew his grandma was getting up there in age. But he did not want to believe that this time would have arrived. "Gr…gr… grandma?"

"Keitaro…"

Keitaro can feel his heart beat faster and faster.

"You see Keitaro…"

Any faster and his heart would've exploded.

"I'm…"

Keitaro closed his eyes as he prepared for the worst possible news to hit him.

"…your cousin."

Keitaro's eyes were completely shut as the room fell silent. 'Oh grandma! I can't believe it is true! I mean, I know you can't live forever but…HUH?!' The words finally sunk into his being. And the words that hit him, were certainly not what he had expected. "Grandma?"

"You can stop calling me that Keitaro since I am not your grandma."

"Oh is that all!" Kitsune said, the girls too were all holding their breaths awaiting for the possible bad news. Of course…

"WAH!!!" The girls all face faulted when the words slammed into them like someone whacking them with a mallet.

Keitaro eyes continued to blink in bewilderment. "Gran…"

"I told you, I'm not your grandmother." Hina repeated.

"Um… eh… Hina?" Keitaro was completely dumbfounded on what just happened. "You're kidding right gr…um… Hina? I mean, you're my cousin? Hehehe. Wow! You really had me worried there grandma! I mean, you certainly have a great sense of humor! Which is great! Hahahahahaha…"

"Yeah… that's… pretty funny! Hehehe…" Naru followed suit and started to lightly chuckle.

"Yeah! I mean, Hina is Keitaro's cousin?" Kitsune sputtered a bit before laughing. "Good one Hina! Wish I thought of something like that! Hahahahahaha!"

Soon the other girls joined in laughing.

"Cousin? Is it something good to eat?" Su jokingly said.

"Hahahahaha…" Keitaro was certainly enjoying this joke. I mean, Grandma Hina his cousin?

As Naru began eying Haruka, Hina, and the girl apparently named Kanako however, her laughter started to die off. "Hahahah…eh…"

Kitsune followed suit. "HAHAHAHAHhahahahah…eh…um…"

Followed by Motoko, Su, and finally Shinobu.

Soon, only Keitaro was laughing. When Keitaro realized he was the only one that found this funny, soon his laughter began dying off. "Hahah…haha…" Keitaro looked straight into Hina's eyes and realized they were dead serious. "Hahahah… you're serious aren't you?"

"Afraid so Keitaro." Grand… um, Cousin Hina said. "I am your cousin."

Keitaro could only stare at his… cousin with a wide-open mouth.

"Wait, wait, WAIT a second!" Naru's voice shattered the silence that had descended into the room. "How can you be his cousin?! You're so… old?!"

Hina glared at Naru with murderous intent.

Naru took a few steps back. "I mean, you're so… young! Yeah. Young! But… Keitaro appears to be so much younger than… you." Naru gulped hoping that would appease the… woman.

"That?" Hina noticeably calmed down, and lightly shook her head. "That… you can blame on grandma. Your real grandma Keitaro."

"Re… re… real grandma?" Keitaro repeated, still stunned by the earlier news. "Who's my real grandmother?"

Hina raised a shaking hand and pointed to someone behind Keitaro.

Keitaro slowly followed where the finger was pointing until he saw who it was that Hina meant. His mouth flew open at the sight.

Haruka stared blankly at Keitaro. Smoke continued to rise from her slowly disintegrating cigarette. "Well, I always told you that I hated being called 'old'."

The girls' mouths also flew open when they saw who Keitaro's apparent grandmother really was. Even Su couldn't believe her eyes. For the next few minutes, along with Keitaro, they divided the times staring at Haruka, then at Hina. Back to Haruka, then at Hina. They were like spectators watching the back and forth of a tennis ball at a tennis match.

"Myuh?" Tamachan, who appeared out of nowhere, sounded before fainting. Apparently his tiny mind couldn't comprehend this turn of events.

"How is this possible?" Motoko said. While she has been taught to expect, paranormal occurrences, her training in the Shinmei Ryu, as well as living at the Hinata Sou alone would make you a believer, this was still beyond anything that she could have imagined.

"I can take it from here." Haruka said as she stepped forward from the corner that was leaning against. Haruka stared down at Keitaro who was still trying to wrap his mind over the idea that Haruka was his grandmother and not his aunt.

Never mind the apparent age difference between her, and… her granddaughter?

"Tell me Keitaro…" Haruka said, snapping Keitaro out of the recesses of his mind. "Do you know why you're immortal?"

"Immortal?" Keitaro raised an eyebrow as a seemingly completely different topic was raised. "What do you mean immortal? I'm not immortal!" Keitaro was about to lightly chuckle when he realized that Haruka was being deadly serious. Much like everything else in the world. "Um… well… uh…" Now that Keitaro really thought about it, he was quite durable. And certainly the other residences have noticed it. However… "I… never thought of it as anything special! I mean, I thought it had to do with the magic of Hinata Sou!"

"Hmph." Haruka said as she sucked the cigarette down to the filter. "Hinata Sou? Keitaro, the source of your immortality is from a stone from an old gypsy selling magical colorful stones that she claimed did everything from cure deadly diseases to summoning dragons and unicorns. Anyways, she claimed that one gave long life, and so you and I touched it. Voila, instant immortality."

"Dragons and… unicorns?" Keitaro stared at Haruka after she made her, claim. "But… I thought I was immortal because I made that promise here at the Hinata Sou! And that the magic of this place kept me alive all this time until I fulfilled it!"

Haruka glared at Keitaro. "You actually believed that nonsense?"

"Well, um… eh…" Keitaro said suddenly unsure of his answer.

"Like I said, it was due to a magical stone that street peddler sold me. When you and I touched it, we became immortal." Haruka reiterated. "I thought it was crap to be honest. Never mind the fact that the stone was one of the ugliest things I have ever seen. But I can't argue the price. It was free, if I bought this other stone at least. Two for the price of one. The other stone had a beautiful shiny torque color, with, in the right light, appeared to have a faint aqua color hues to it."

"Guh!" Hina shuddered at the memories.

Haruka eyed Hina before she continued her story. "Well, it turns out that this stone was the aging stone."

Everyone in the room, except Haurka, Kanako, and Hina gasped.

"Than that means…" Keitaro started when Haruka slowly nodded.

"Hina is only thirty eight years old." Haruka raised her arms in a defeated pose.

"Hmph!" Hina glared at Haruka. "You say that now while you don't look a day older than twenty!"

"I'm thinking more like thirty but yeah." Haruka crushed the used cigarette, and removed another one from her pocket. "Those are the breaks I guess."

"Wait!" Keitaro suddenly shot up from his seat. "This is all a joke! Yeah that's right! You're all playing a joke on me!"

Haruka rolled her eyes at Keitaro's comments. "Keitaro, this is not…"

"No!" Keitaro said quickly. "I mean, I have pictures of you Haruka! And you Grandma!"

Hina lightly shook her head. "Kei…"

"I'll show you!" Keitaro rushed out of the room and headed towards his room.

Once Keitaro was out of the room, time seemed to stand still as everyone stared at the doorway as they awaited Keitaro's reappearance. With the only indication of the passage of time was Haruka's cigarette slowly turning to ash on her lips.

A few moments later, Keitaro returned to the room holding a picture with him, middle-aged woman that looked a slightly younger version of Haruka, and a much older woman all smiling back at the camera. It was apparently taken when Keitaro was around seven or eight, and it was taken sometime before the infamous promise was made.

Keitaro eagerly showed the current occupants the picture. It was one of the few pictures that, didn't simply contain him and so, he was eager to show it off to everyone. "See? Here is you Haruka, and Grandma right here!"

Haruka took the picture and looked at it. Her expression softened as she fondly remembered the girl in it. "Ah, Yoko. I hadn't seen this picture of her before."

"Yo…ko?" Keitaro stared at Haruka dumbfounded.

"That's the girl that looked like me Keitaro." Haruka eyed Keitaro. "Your aunt, and my daughter."

Keitaro's mouth felt dry. "But that's you! I remember…"

"Keitaro…" Hina spoke up behind him. "Do you know who the promise girl is?"

"…" Keitaro's mouth continued to move, but no words were coming out as a daunting, and bizarre truth began to set it. "Um, well…"

Haruka crossed her arms while still holding onto the picture. "Besides, fifteen years down the road, Yoko would still look older than me anyways. You see, the reason why you haven't heard of Yoko is…" Haruka's stern expression gave way somewhat as she recalled the memories. "She died in a car crash a few years after Hina finished college." Haruka wiped a few tears from her eyes. "Todai of all places. And this was before Hina came into contact with the aging stone. When we realized what was happening, we, Hina and I, made a pact to keep this a secret between us. With all this aging, de-aging stone business going on, well, we didn't want your young mind dealing with the idea that the person you thought was your cousin, was some old hag in just a few short years."

Hina grumbled at Haruka's last comments.

"And the person you thought was Hina, was really me before I apparently… de-aged."

"De-age?" Keitaro blinked confused.

"That's right." Haruka nodded. "You see, the stone doesn't simply grant a person 'immortality'. It also ages, or de-ages in my case, to their prime of their life."

"Then that means…"

"Yes." Haruka nodded again. "In your case, you continued to age like a normal kid until, well, around now, now that I think about it."

"Wait!" Motoko raised her voice trying to get attention to the, apparently MUCH older woman. "How do you know you're immortal? Are you sure that you can't be killed?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure I can't die. I tried jumping off of buildings, shooting myself in the head, heck, I even I ran into this sword welding weirdo screaming 'there can be only ONE' who tried to cut my head off." Haruka said as she took a long drag. "But all that accomplished was my headless body decapitating him instead."

"But… but… but…" Naru's chin was quivering. "You… you can't be immortal! Keitaro can't be immortal! I mean… maybe you only look young and…"

Haruka took out a long knife, and ran it across her left forearm. As soon as the blade penetrated the skin, the wound that it left instantly healed, leaving no sign of trauma.

Naru kept opening and closing her mouth at the undeniable demonstration. "Well, but Keitaro… Keitaro still bleeds see?!" Naru said pointing to Keitaro's forehead. "So that means he isn't immortal!"

"So did I when I first touched it." Haruka noted. "And it is why I thought it was all crap. Ugly useless stone I thought."

"And you threw it away!" Hina growled.

"Well, it was more like I threw it down a volcano." Haruka offhandedly added. "But that's not the point. Anyways, the effects of the stone do not fully appear until many years later. How long? I'm not sure. But… Keitaro, mind checking your cut?"

"Huh?" Keitaro said as he looked up with eyes. While he obviously could not 'see' the bandages that were on his forehead, he knew it was there. "Well, um…"

"If it is still bleeding, you can just replace it." Haruka said impatiently. "Now Keitaro…"

"Okay." Keitaro said, taking off the bandages.

"Huh!" The girls' in-front of Keitaro all stared stunned at his forehead.

Keitaro rubbed the area where his cut used to be. "It's… gone?"

Haruka handed Keitaro a small mirror. "That's not the only thing…"

Keitaro viewed his face in the mirror in amazement. "It's… gone! Not even a scar!" 'So, I'm really immortal! I'm really…' Keitaro then looked at Naru with an extremely concerned look in her eyes. 'Immortal?'

"But, but that means…" Naru tried to hold back the tears that seemed to be welling up in her eyes. "That means…"

"Yes." Haruka eyed Naru. "It means Keitaro will outlive all of you."

"Eh?!" Keitaro said as the truth dawned on him. "I, I'll outlive all of them?"

"Yes Keitaro. You'll still be a strapping twenty year old, when Naru, Motoko, Kitsune, heck, even Su and Shinobu are all gone and buried."

Keitaro imagined standing over their graves. Him, still alive while everyone he has ever loved are long gone and buried. Everyone. "No. I, I don't want this!"

"How do you think I feel about it?" Haruka said as her eyes soften. "Watching my own co-workers, friends, lovers, and even my children age around me? I already buried one husband. Do you think I want to go through that experience again, and again, and again?"

"I…" Keitaro began to view Haruka in a whole new light. "Au… Haruka…"

"And then of course, my granddaughter…" Haruka eyed Hina.

"Oh my." Motoko viewed the older 'looking' woman. "I'm sorry that this has happened to you. That means that your lifespan was greatly reduced."

"Greatly reduced?" Hina eyed Motoko suspiciously. "What do you mean? I'm a strapping forty three year old with plenty of life in me!"

"Huh?" The girls' all said confused.

"But, the aging stone…" Keitaro noted.

"Oh that?" Hina jumped up from her seat. "It only made me LOOK old. It didn't age my body any."

"But then, what was with all that hospital stuff?" Kitsune added, scratching her head in wonderment.

"Oh that?" Hina yawned. "I just had case of over exhaustion and needed a place to sleep."

"But the…"

"The coughing?" Hina said catching what Kitsune was about to say next. "It was probably due to all that smoke that occurred when the hospital had a kitchen fire." Hina smiled as the rest of the occupants of the room now seem to _get_ it. "Don't worry about me. I probably have a good forty of fifty years ahead of me. The problem is… you try convincing a sexy young man that I have plenty of kilometers ahead of me?"

The girls', including Keitaro but minus Haruka and Kanako, all deadpanned at Hina's comments.

"Of course, none of which would have been any concern whatsoever if you didn't throw the stone away, grandmother!" Hina venomously spat.

"Oh would you get over it already? I already said I'm sorry." Haruka took another deep drag from her cigarette. "Besides, according to that peddler, there are plenty of immortal stones out there. You just have to find it. Wonder where that peddler is anyways?"

-Meanwhile…

Hawaii – On the Rim of the Volcano

"Ah! Twenty years into my three hundred year vacation." The winged 'gypsy' woman said. "No more stupid stones that I have to worry about either!"

"You sure you got rid of them all?" A certain dark skinned goddess flew down to see the gypsy woman.

"Oh please! Just because you convinced Kami-sama that it was partially my fault…"

"Correction." Urd said, crossing her arms. "It is ALL your fault. If you didn't break into my lab…"

"Blah blah blah." The gypsy woman said. She mocked Urd by moving her hand like a mouth. "Can we let this all lie in the past? After all, all the stones are gone and so I have nothing to worry about now."

"You sure all the stones are gone?" Urd narrowed her eyes at her. "I'm sure giving one to a mortal doesn't constitute _destruction_."

"Bah!" The gypsy waved off Urd. "So a mortal now has to deal with it. Big deal! As long as I don't have it, then I don't have to deal with it right?"

"You mean that stone right there?" Urd said as she pointed close to the gypsy's feet.

"Huh?" The gypsy followed where Urd was pointing, and began to grit her teeth. "DAMN IT!"

-Back at the Hinata Sou

"What do you think I've been trying to do all this time?" Hina said, crossing her arms and crashing to the sofa. "I can't even find any trace that this peddler woman ever existed!"

"Inconsiderate brat as usual." Haruka said as she stamped out another cigarette. "Looks like I'll have to get another pack soon."

"Another one? But isn't that…oh." Keitaro said as realization dawned on him.

"Yeah. Maybe I'm hoping against hope but who knows? They say smoking kills. Wouldn't hurt right?" Haruka shrugged.

"So um, does Seta know about this?" Kitsune asked apprehensively.

"Nope. Not yet at least." Haruka answered. "Besides, I'm sure he's just happy to be with someone with plenty of experience."

"Plenty of experience?" Naru shakily repeated.

"Yup!" Haruka grinned. "I have more experience than a hooker in Kabukicho!"

"Ha… Haru… Haruka!" Motoko stuttered, her face flustered red. "We have children here!"

"They will learn the facts of life one of these days." Haruka nonchalantly said. "Better sooner rather than later right?"

This resulted in Shinobu going bright red. "Anoooooo."

"So, you really are immortal." Su reiterated, showing none of her playful self since the revelation.

"Yup." Haruka nodded. "Just me, living on and on and on, watching everyone I ever loved pass away." Then a smirk appeared on her face. "Well, almost everyone."

Keitaro gulped. "Um, why are you staring at me like that?"

Haruka grinned. "My life has been full of change. Why not have one thing that will always be constant?"

"Ehhhhhhhhhh." Keitaro began to sweat. He was feeling really uncomfortable with where this conversation was heading.

"Eh hem." Kanako coughed as she tried to get everyone attention. "There is one thing you have forgotten _grandmother_."

Haruka eyed the Goth girl. "What would that be Kanako?"

"You and Keitaro weren't the only one to come into contact with the immortality stone." Kanako smile began to widen.

Keitaro stared forward, completely dumbfounded. "What?"

* * *

-------End of Chapter 1

Anyone NOT on TFF expect that? Hehehehehe. Careful with typos. Stories like this might appear.

A few things to note in closing: When Haruka mentioned that she didn't like being called 'old', this was in reference to when Keitaro calls her "Aunt Haruka". While in English this might not make much sense, in Japanese, the word for Aunt, "Obaasan", has nother meaning, "old woman". Hence this is reason why Haruka hits him over the head. Not that Haruka is related to him, but that she sees him as calling her 'old'.

And one last thing… this chapter is now FIXED grammatically (supposing I didn't miss another one). Man, when I re-read this, ouch. Definitely need to pre-read this better… or get a beta reader.

-Next Chapter, now that the truth is out, what will the Hinata Sou gang do? Will they seek out this 'gypsy' person? And what will Keitaro do now that the secret to his durability has been finally revealed? What will Naru, Kitsune, Motoko, Shinobu, and Su do? Mutsumi? Until next time, later!


	2. Chapter 2

-1Everlasting, Chapter 2.

Woot! Finally finished an update. It isn't that I stopped writing, it's just that, I've been busy. That and while I did get a lot of writing done recently, it's been, well, for a TON of updates. Not just one.

So, in the meantime, this is the first update to get finished recently! Enjoy!

* * *

Hinata Sou

"Wait, Kanako is immortal too?!" Keitaro said aghast.

Hina was furious upon hearing Kanako's statement. "How come I didn't know about this?!"

"Because you never asked." Kanako noted with a grin.

Haruka sighed as she took in another drag. "No Kanako, I did not forget that you too touched the stone."

"You knew too?!" Hina glared at Haruka.

"Then why did you choose not to reveal this information to my dear Onii-chan?" Kanako glared at Haruka.

"It isn't so much that I choose not to reveal this information to Keitaro." Haruka stated. "It's that I'm more interested in men than women."

Kanako frowned at Haruka's statement. "So you expect Onii-chan to just go along and be the lover of his grandma?" Kanako grinned as she thought of her precious Onii-chan. "When he could have someone like me to keep him warm for all Eternity? Someone closer to his generation?"

Haruka eyed Kanako dangerously. However, the rest of her facial expression remained unchanged. "I never said that we'd be 'lovers' Kanako. Of course if Keitaro doesn't mind…"

"Wait, wait, WAITTTTTTTTT!!!" Naru slammed her foot down and begun waving her arms frantically in front of her. "First of all, NO ONE is deciding anything at this point!" Naru angrily said between deep breaths. "First, you can't be telling Keitaro what he should, or shouldn't do."

"Naru…" Haruka began as she let out a whiff of smoke from her mouth. "No one here is making Keitaro do anything. We're just discussion _what ifs_ right now."

"Well, um, I…" Keitaro stammered out before being interrupted.

Kanako butted in. "It isn't like Onii-chan has much of a choice. He can either live the rest of his life with me, or… try to be with one of you and watch as all you all age and die." Kanako crossed her arm grinning. She eyed each of the other girls who all gazed at their own feet as they knew that Kanako was speaking the truth. "Not exactly a life I'm sure anyone, much less Onii-chan, would enjoy."

"Hmph." Naru sounded as she remained unmoved by Kanako's words. "It's true that we mere _mortals_ have a limited lifespan. But if there is one thing I do know, you can't dictate someone's emotions." Naru swiveled her head towards Keitaro and raised her hand pointing at him. "Even a buffoon like him has feelings. And feelings are not something that can be turned on or off by a simple switch."

"Eh.. Um…" Keitaro again stammered out as he tried to reply, an apparently futile attempt to speak for himself.

"And so you intend to spend the rest of your life with Keitaro in the hopes that whatever years you have left, would be the best he'll ever have?" Haruka replied back to Naru.

It was now Naru's turn to stammer something out as her face turned bright red. "Um, eh… no! I mean… that was not what I meant…"

Haruka placed a hand up to stop Naru. "Say no more. In fact, I agree with what you said."

Kanako eyed Haruka questioningly.

Haruka in turn, eyed Kanako back. "Whether he's immortal or not, he's also still human." Haruka turned to Keitaro. "Right? You're still trying to get into Toudai so that you can meet your promise girl correct?"

Keitaro mouth began opening and closing before finally letting out a firm answer. "YES!" He then felt suddenly unsure of himself at that point. "At least, that's what I intended to do and… I still plan to go to Toudai and…"

"Say no more." Haruka said as she stepped up to Keitaro. "What you do with your life is up to you. Who you want to love, who you want to marry, it will always remain your choice." Haruka then removed the cigarette from her mouth. "You just have to realize, you have a very long life ahead of you."

Keitaro's mouth remained open after Haruka's interruption. After a second of contemplation, Keitaro nodded and weakly replied to her statement. "Yeah."

"Um, Haruka…" Motoko tentatively spoke up. "Is this, really the end? Are you sure there is nothing you can do about this? Isn't there a way to reverse it?"

"I'm all ears." Haruka said as she tapped her chin. "While the idea of living forever might have sounded great when I was a kid, after a few generation of this, not exactly something I want to go through. Alone at least."

"Hmph." Kanako sounded next to her. Obviously, she herself had different ideas. 'If you want to die so badly Haruka. By all means, be my guest. But as long as I can live with my Onii-chan, I don't mind Eternity one bit."

"Anoo…" Shinobu quietly spoke up next to them. "Maybe… maybe we can go to Toudai and… find a way to reverse the effects of the stone?"

Haruka shook her head. "We could always try. But remember, what happened to us seemed to be magic."

"A really powerful one at that which made us into gods." Kanako grinned maliciously.

"I wouldn't go that far." Haruka crossed her arms. "But I will have to agree that it is some very powerful magic. I mean nothing I did even harmed me. Much less… made me one step closer to death. Living forever is one thing. But even denied an _unnatural _death?"

"And besides…" Hina intervened as she leaned down on her walking cane. "I tried that already. Besides trying to convince a skeptical bunch of fools, none of them had any ideas of how to begin. Much less, a way to reverse the process of my aged look."

Motoko looked to the side as she considered something. "Maybe, maybe our family has a scroll or two that could help."

Haruka raised an eyebrow to Motoko's statement. "Do you recall a scroll that could reverse it Motoko?"

Motoko lowered and shook her head. "Unfortunately, I do not recall coming across any scroll that dealt with magical runes or stones that gave immortality." Motoko than looked up at Haruka. "But it still remains a possibility that our family might have something about it."

"Wouldn't hurt I guess." Haruka sighed. "But my gut feeling tells me that this would even be foreign to the Aoyama family." Haruka tried to recall the events when she met that peddler. "I'm afraid the only one that might be able to reverse it, was the same girl that gave me the stone in the first place." After a short pause, she began to realize something about that peddler. "There was something really odd about that gypsy. She… somehow didn't feel right. Like she wasn't… human."

"Maybe she was a demon?" Motoko wondered out loud. "That is why she had access to such powerful magic?"

"Who knows?" Haruka shrugged her shoulders. "Who, or whatever she is, she's long gone now. Maybe she went back to whatever place she came from."

-Meanwhile

Hawaii - On the Rim of the Volcano

The winged gypsy girl looked at the stone in front of her. A stone that had mocked her for close to three hundred years. Being half-human and half-goddess can get very boring at times. So she dabbled in the forbidden arts. This particular stone was the accumulation of much experimentation into forbidden magic. It was also an astounding success for what it did. Which would also be her downfall as her experiments was exposed by others. Namely, a certain dark skinned goddess. And now, to prevent the wrath of Kami-sama from coming down on her, she vowed to destroy it, and all remnants of the experiments she had conducted.

"All the other stones were nothing compared to this one." Urd noted as she stared at the stone behind the winged gypsy girl. "Sure, they might grant a person at most invulnerability, or limited immortality, but not both at the same time. And certainly not as long lasting as this one."

"And it's also why this stone is nearly impossible to destroy." The winged gypsy girl said. "No matter what I tried, nothing could make a dent on it. Not even a scratch, much less a crack."

"Well, you better find a way." Urd smiled as she patted the girl on the back. "Because if you don't, you know what Kami-sama will do to you."

Images flashed across her as the horrible images came back to the winged girl. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! Anything but that!" The images of being tied up and forced to watch the Teletubbies, Barney, the Boobahs fused together in an epic show, ran repeatedly over and over again, could destroy even the strongest minds in the world. "Okay! I'll destroy it! I'll do it this time!"

"Good." Urd smiled as she flew away. "Remember to destroy it this time. Make sure there is no trace of it whatsoever."

"Okay!" The winged gypsy girl said as she waved back at Urd. After Urd left, the girl looked at the stone and cursed the Heavens. "SON OF A…"

Hinata Sou

"But I don't want Haruka, Keitaro, and strange girl in black to live forever!" Su whimpered.

Kanako eyed the young foreign girl. "But you're just have to face that fact." Kanako crossed her arms with a smug look. "We'll be alive and well, well after you are gone."

Su growled. "Not unless we get our hands on that stone."

"Well, if you can find her and get your hand on that stone, I suppose you can join _us _in living forever." Haruka said in a hypothetical tone.

"Of course, that requires finding her." Kanako cut in. "Hina and I already tried. And we found no trance of her existence."

Su began to smile. Though the smile took a devilish turn. "That's probably because you didn't have the resources that I have access too."

Kanako frowned at Su's seemingly cocky statement. "Oh? And pray tell what _resources _that you have access to? And before you say it, the Urashima family is not a poor family. This Inn should be your first indication of that."

Naru eyed Su in a slightly hopeful tone. She then eyed Kanako with a devious grin herself. "You don't know who Su is do you?"

"I do not." Kanako admitted. "But all I see is that she is a foreigner."

"Yup yup yup!" Su nodded as she began to do cartwheels around Kanako, which further irritated the Goth girl. "I'm not from this country!"

Kanako narrowed her eyes as her fingers began to dig into her biceps. "Could you get to the point?" 'She wouldn't have brought it up unless she's like royalty or something.'

"Anoo. Um, eh… uh…" Shinobu stumbled out. She was not sure if she would be the one to speak it, or Su. But Su… well, she was not sure if she was stalling to annoy Kanako, or if she was waiting for someone else to say it.

Kitsune, who at this point was simply concerned and fascinated about what the conversation was about, decided at that point to speak for Su. While she enjoyed watching this arrogant Goth girl suffer a bit, she also did felt this delay was a bit pointless. "Well…" Kitsune said with a huge smile. "This here little girl is a princess!"

"A what?" Kanako raised an eyebrow at the revelation.

"Yup!" Su jumped on Kanako's back and began distorting Kanako's face. "I'm the Princess of Molmol!"

"Get off!" Kanako growled as she instinctively jerked her arm back trying to knock Su off. Instead, Su just became even more bold and started pulling Kanako's hair. And she tried to punch the little girl off, Su grabbed her arm, dropped to the ground, and began twirling her around.

"Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Su happily exclaimed as she twirled Kanako around and around.

All the while, the other residents simply watched in amusement.

Finally, Kanako jerked her arm away and frowned. She was a bit dizzy from the twirling. "Stupid girl." She mumbled to herself. "So, she is a princess is she?" She then looked at Haruka and then to Hina. "What, you two knew?"

"Of course." Hina winkled face smiled. "I was the manager of this place. I have to know about everyone that comes to live here."

"And I'm only steps away from the Hinata Sou." Haruka said as her last cigarette appeared to be nearing it's end. She privately cursed not buying another pack earlier. "And when Hina is out, I was the defacto manager. So I needed and had access to the same information."

"And how come I don't know any of this?" Kanako shifted her eyes from Haruka and Hina as she said this.

"Because you never asked." Haruka and Hina said in unison.

Kitsune slapped Kanako on the back to add some insult to injury. "Wasn't like you cared about the residents of this place before right?"

"Peh." A furious shaking Kanako let out. She then took a deep breath, calming down, and then eyed the grinning little princess. "And what good will it do to you, even if you are a princess?"

"Well…" Su looked up in a mock thinking pose. "Daddy is the king of Molmol. He's also very well liked. A lot of people would love to see him rule forever… I don't know." Su's eyes seemed to twinkle at the last statement.

"In other words…" Motoko continued as Su was still in her playful mood. "If Su's parents find out about the stone, she could get the financial and technical support from the Molmol government."

"And in case you're thinking Molmol is some backwards nation…" Naru grinned as she eyed Kanako like pray that was ready to be pounced on. "You should check out her room here. Besides the fact that she somehow was able to fit a jungle in there, it's also full of pretty advance equipment. While I wouldn't say all her machines and_experiments_ were beneficial," Naru lightly shivered as she remembered some of the apparent failures Su's machine did. Not to mention the ones that no one would call safe. "At the same time, they were, almost a head of their time if I may say so yourself."

Kanako glared at Naru for a moment before sighing in defeat. "Very well. She can try to succeed where we failed. But no matter how much resources you throw at this, if she went back to wherever she came from, it's doubtful that even you can find her."

"Maybeeeeeeeeeeeee." Su looked up into the ceiling. "But I have a feeling this girl is somewhere that we can easily find!"

-Meanwhile

Hawaii - On the Rim of the Volcano

"So until I destroy this stone, I'm stuck in the mortal realm." The winged gypsy girl crossed her arms and frowned. "Well, I have all Eternity to find a way to destroy it. And besides, no one knows who I am or what I look like so, I guess I shouldn't really be bothered by anyone."

A sudden shiver ran down her spine. Followed by a light sneeze.

"Huh?" The girl said confused by the sensation. "Wonder what that was about? Bah. I should go to a place that's more secluded." She contemplated about the places where she could go. "Hmm. Or at least a place where I can do my research without being bothered. Maybe instead of going into isolated deserted region of the world where some fool might stumble in my way… how about go the opposite route? Some place that's full of people that are going about in their daily lives? Some place like, Japan."

A grin appeared on the winged girl's face.

"Yes. That's it! Sure it has over a hundred million people. But no one would be looking for me. Besides, I'll be a foreigner." The smile on her face got bigger as she thought up all the possibilities with this location. "No one there would want to be friends with a foreigner. Oh, this is going to be perfect! Nothing can possibly go wrong now!"

Hinata Sou

"Maybe I'll talk to the Aoyama Elders." Motoko contemplated out loud. "Maybe they would be interested in this matter as well."

"You have to be careful." Haruka spoke up as it was becoming clear that this revelation was definitely going to change things here. "Life and death is not something that should be dealt with easily. Even if we get our hands on this stone, what do you plan to do with it? It's bad enough I have to live forever. Imagine if millions of people are granted that gift or curse? And what about the millions that didn't get to the stone in time? It's a potential disaster no matter which side you're on."

"Er…" Motoko frowned at that. "I… that's right. We should think about what we would do if we get the stone. Still, I think the Aoyama Elders would have some wisdom about this."

"Or their self-preservationist mind might override their logical one. So they decide that only old farts like them deserve it and no one else." Kanako cynically added.

Motoko glared menacingly at Kanako.

"Whatever." Naru waved her hands as if she was trying to steer the current topic away from it's current path. "What we do with the stone is irrelevant now until we have the stone in my hand."

"Your hand?" Kanako frown deepened. She knew she would not like this girl when she first saw her. And each word that she puked out only made her harden that belief.

"Um, I mean, our hands." Naru corrected. She then cleared her throat before she continued. "It's important that we get this stone as soon as possible!"

"Why is it so important?" Kitsune asked. While a part of her would enjoy living forever, another part of her was not so sure that was a good idea. And she was not sure why Naru herself would be so eager to have an eternal life. Unless she finally admitted her feelings for Keitaro were genuine.

"Uh! Um…" Naru shifted her eyes from side to side. She was suddenly at a loss for words. She eyed Haruka and then Motoko hoping they would speak up. When they did not, she then focused on Keitaro. After staring at Keitaro for a few seconds too long, she suddenly blushed, gritted her teeth, and stared down on the floor. "It's cause I… we… need a choice in this matter."

"And like I said before, immortality is not something that should be taken lightly." Haruka said as she began tapping her fingers. "Especially since all it took was one touch. One touch and it made us immortal. And once you touch it, unless this gypsy has a stone to reverse it, it's also permanent."

"All I want is to look young again." Hina said as she placed a hand on her cheek, and started to imagine all of the 'naughty' things she could be doing in a much younger body. "I don't necessarily want to be immortal. But if I have to, I'm sure I can find plenty of stuff to do." Hina began drooling.

Kitsune's face began to sour at seeing Hina's expression. Whatever she was thinking, it probably was not fit for children. Which was made even worst given the current appearance of Hina as a 'grandmother'. "I think I'm going to be sick."

"Uh huh!" Su said as she did cartwheels out of the room. She apparently either ignored, or simply not cared about Haruka's concern. "I'll talk to daddy! And if he says yes, I'll begin planning right now." An evil smile appeared on her face. "That peddler and that stone will be mine!"

"And I'll call my sister." Motoko said as she turned towards where the Hinata Sou's main phone was located. "I'll give everyone her answer when I'm done."

"Hmph." Kanako sounded after watching the two residents leave the room. "Suits themselves. But they are simply wasting their time. Even if they find her, it's doubtful that she would have any of the stones on her."

"She'd better." Hina said with contempt. "Because even if she herself can't die, I'm going to make sure that she wished she had a stone to release her from her physical existence."

"Well, I'd like to get my hands on her myself." Haruka noted as she glanced at the doorway. "I want to know exactly what she is, and how she could come across such a powerful stone."

"Ah." Keitaro's eyes suddenly lit up. He viewed Hina as she was about to leave towards the stairs. Probably up to the empty room now that Keitaro resides in the manager's room. "That reminds me, whatever happened to that other stone? The aging one."

"Oh that horrid thing?" Hina spat out. "When I realized what that stone did to me, I threw it on the ground and it shattered into a million pieces. Whatever magic it held seemed to have dissipated since when my uncle, your father picked up the pieces, nothing happened to him."

"The other stone was different though." Haruka recalled. "When I accidentally dropped it, nothing happened. As ugly as I thought it was, there was no indication of a scratch, a chip, anything. When I tried to use a hammer, the only thing that was damaged in the end was the hammer. That's why I decided to throw it down the volcano."

"Grrrr." Hina let out.

"Hmm." The wheels in Naru's head began to turn. "I'm going to talk to Su. Maybe there is something I can do."

"Bah." Kitsune said as she waved at the others. It was clear this meeting was over. "All this talk about immortality and what not, has made me thirsty. Well, as I always say, life is short! For um, most of us. Better enjoy it while we can!" She walked out the door to, most likely to a local bar to get wasted for the night.

"And I'll reside in that spare room for now." Hina said as she hobbled her way up the stairs. "Since I gave the reigns to you Keitaro."

"But you don't have to do all that. I mean…" Keitaro scratched the back of his head.

"My decision is final." Hina smiled back at Keitaro. "You're the manager and future owner now. That room is yours. Now? I'm just a simple young guest. A very tired one at that. So if you don't mind…" Hina continued her slow and steady walk up the stairs.

"Anoo…" Shinobu, who did not have much to say during the conversation, found herself alone with the immortals. Thinking that, at the moment she was out of place, she decided to remove herself from this room as well. "I'll go clean the kitchen, bathroom, hallway, do the laundry…"

Kanako glared at Shinobu.

"I'll do it now!" Shinobu quickly said and sprinted out of the room. However, on her way to doing the chores, she could not help but daydream about the possibilities. The possibility of being with Keitaro… forever.

Shinobu's Dream

"_Oh Senpei!" Shinobu said as they boarded a spaceship. "Will you love me forever?"_

"_For all Eternity my love!" A handsome and ripped Kietaro said in a deep voice. "And since we're the only immortals left, it really is an Eternity."_

_The spaceship door closed, and began took off. Speeding past Jupiter and Saturn. Give that this is a fantasy, it was completely ignoring the laws physics._

"_Oh Senpei!" Shinobu embraced Keitaro lovingly. "I love you, from here to Eternity!"_

Reality - Hinata Sou

Keitaro watched as the room emptied, with the exception of Haruka and Kanako. As the three no longer mortals remained, Keitaro asked the only thing that was on his mind. "So what do we do now?"

"Beats me." Haruka said shrugging. "Su and Motoko are off doing their thing. I guess in the meantime we could go grab something to eat."

"We can still eat?" Keitaro said pensively. "I mean, it isn't like we will starve… will we?"

"True." Haruka replied. "Heck, after a while, our bodies stop feeling_hungry_ if you don't eat for a while." Haruka said as she remembered the self experiment she did when she first discovered her ability. While at first her body protested the lack of the now unneeded nourishment, after even a relatively short seven or eight hours, the hunger pains disappeared. Same was true for the lack of liquids. After over a day without drinking any liquids of any kind, her body simply said 'forget it' altogether. She was not sure if in the long run this would result in her drying out, but given how after two weeks without drinking had not caused any significant physical changes, she doubted there would be any differences. Seemed her own body was more used to this immortality thing than her mind was. "That doesn't mean we can't eat or drink though. Our organs still function perfectly after all. It'll still digest the food even if that is now unnecessary."

"Besides," Kanako cut in as she approached Keitaro. "You still like to indulge on eating delicious delicacies don't you?" Kanako gave a wry smile. "After all, nothing wrong with having some Kobe Beef every once in a while right?" Kanako began soothing Keitaro's back.

"I guess not." Keitaro said as his stomach rumbled a bit. "Some Kobe Beef actually sounds good right now."

"Good." Kanako locked arms with his. "I know just the restaurant where we can go." 'And then, we'll get to know each other a bit better. Onii-chan!'

"Hmph." Haruka followed Kanako and Keitaro. 'Trying to get your claws on him already huh?' "Don't forget me. It was I that suggested it after all. And the one that actually has the cash to pay for all this."

"Yes grandmother." Kanako frowned at the older woman's intrusion into her plans. "Of course we're all coming." Kanako mentally growled at the older woman. 'No matter. Keitaro will be mine… forever!'

Su's Room

Naru wandered into Su's room. She brushed aside some leaves as she tried to find the path that would lead her to Su. After all, Su's room was literally a jungle. She looked around the dense forest in the hopes of finding her. She was also mindful of Su's numerous machines and traps that were everywhere. She might be ten or eleven (at least, before a Red Moon comes around), but she was also quite protective of her things. Even if her methods involves traps that were borderline legal. If not outright law breaking.

Naru suddenly stopped and huffed. Knowing her history with this place, there was a better solution to finding Su than overtly risking her life. She huffed and stomped her foot, hoping that she did not accidentally set off one of Su's traps. "Su! Where are you?!"

Said girl swung down next to Naru from the branches, inches from her face. "Heyo!"

"GACK!" Naru jumped back and landed on the ground. "What, what are you doing up there?"

"Just talking to my family!" The young princess said as she dangled upside down from one of the branches.

"And what did they say?" Naru said as she slowly got up. She was curious about what Su and her family had to say.

"Daddy said he's going to be very happy to get his hand on this stone." Su happily replied. "But have to keep it a secret! Don't want to give Molmol any hope that their king will rule them forever."

Naru's smile began to fade a bit. After a bit of thought, the idea of having a 'leader for life' did not sit well with her. Even if it was someone that was as benevolent as Su's father. At least, someone she assumed to be as benevolent since she has yet to even meet him. Still, if this meant getting the stone, it should all work out in the end.

"Hmm. Sounds good I guess." Naru said as she crossed her arms. "But what are they going to do about it?"

"Well, he first thought of sending over the entire Molmol Military here to Japan…" Su began in a thoughtful manner. "After all, we're not at war with anyone!"

"GAH!" Naru's eyes nearly burst out of her eye sockets when she heard that. "How, how is that supposed to keep things secret?!"

"Well, he then decided that only my sister should come." Su beamed as she ripped out a banana from a bundle and began peeling it.

"Wait, you have a sister?" Naru blinked in surprise. This was the first time she has ever heard of Su having a family besides the fact that she had a father, and a mother. Heck, she did not even know that she was royalty until very recently too. 'This day seemed to be full of surprises,' Naru thought as she recalled the other, less pleasant surprise of the day. 'Heck, I didn't even know Keitaro even had a creepy sister.' She frowned deeply at not knowing this information. She thought she was getting closer to Keitaro before and in turn, knowing all the little details about him. Not to the extent of actually liking him in that way an all she kept telling herself, but still, closer. The recent bombshells however, have put that reasoning in doubt.

Su nodded as she began to eat her banana happily. "Yup! And she should be here tomorrow!"

'Not wasting time I see.' Naru thought at the suddenness of it all. She then coughed a bit as she wanted to shift the subject away from the pending royal arrival. "So, do you have any idea how to find this, Gypsy Girl?"

Su's cheerfulness seemed to have lessened after hearing Naru's question. However, she did try to keep a reasonably cheery mood about the situation. "Nope! No clue!"

"Hmph." Naru sounded as she had suspected as much. Finding Keitaro or Motoko when they left was one thing, trying to find a girl that only Haruka, and maybe Hina had seen was entirely different beast to take down. Which brought Naru to her own suggestion. "Say Su, what if, instead of trying to find the girl, you try to find the stone instead?"

Su back flipped off the branch and landed on the ground next to Naru. "Ooooooooo. Idea forming! But why find the stone instead of the Gipsee?"

"Well…" Naru raised a knowing hand as she recalled Haruka's and Hina's words. "Hina said that the aging stone was easily destroyed when she threw it on the ground. But no matter what Haruka did, the Immortal one refused to be damaged." A smile appeared on Naru's face. "So my guess is, that stone is still around somewhere. Whether that girl has it or not doesn't matter."

Su dropped her right fist into her left hand. "And if Haruka, Keitaro, and the strange dark girl all have traceable paranormal readings, I can build a machine that could lead back to the source!"

"Uh, yeah." Naru tentatively replied. For someone that appeared to be no older than eleven, Su did seem to have a more educated reasoning and understanding of what to do. Most kids her age were probably watching Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh. Not thinking up of building complicated machines like she was proposing. "Anyways, you should start building soon. Because once that machine is build, the stone will be mine… I mean, ours."

Su raised her fist in the air. "Right-o!"

-Later…

Hinata Sou - Main Room

"Hey! Where did you guys go?" Naru huffed haughtily at the three people that were walking through the door.

Keitaro drooped his head down as he entered through the doorway. "We just went out for a bite to eat."

"And it was certainly much fulfilling and satisfying wasn't it Onii-chan?" Kanako cooled at Keitaro's ear. All the while having her right arm locked with Keitaro's.

Naru growled at the scene she was seeing in front of her. Though she would never admit the reason why seeing this bothered her.

"Anooo…" Shinobu dropped her head in disappointment. "I already prepared a special dinner for tonight."

"Don't worry." Haruka said behind the ronin and the Goth girl. "Keitaro is going to eat Shinobu's food too right?"

"Eh?!" Keitaro gasped out. He was, after all, for intent and purpose, stuffed. He thought fancy restaurants were all overpriced with puny portions. This place only followed the overpriced part. He then peered into Shinobu's innocent eyes, and instantly melted in them. He just could not deny the little girl anything. "Of course. I'll eat plenty of Shinobu's food!"

"There see?" Haruka nonchalantly said as she continued to follow Keitaro and Kanako into the room. "Oh, and I also made sure they were on their best behavior while they were away."

"Hmph." Naru sounded, highly annoyed by this. "And why exactly is his shirt all stained?"

"Onii-chan tripped on the serving lady." Kanako scowled at the memories. "I'm sure it was that woman's fault after all."

"Not to mention destroyed a lot of the expensive dishes." Haruka added, causing Kanako to frown even more. "Luckily, the Urashima Family as a whole has been quite successful financially and so we were able to replace them without much fuss."

"It is?" Naru asked as she was not sure she bought that. She looked around the Hinata Sou which was, for the most part, in a fairly shabby condition.

"As a whole." Huraka reiterated. "This amount of land alone would be the envy of most of Japan save the Empress herself. Though it isn't like everything goes into this Inn. And there is a belief in our family that people should work to earn their living." She then eyed Hina who was standing next to her smiling. "There are exceptions of course."

"Oh would you hush!" Hina glared back at Haruka. "It isn't like I can easily get a job when I look like this!"

"She's right." Motoko cut in. She was sitting on the couch next to the table at the center of the room. "This nation, doesn't look fondly on older people. At least, as a working citizen."

"Yeah. There is an expectation that the elderly are supposed to be taken care of. At my age, I should be retired and living on the state's pension." Haruka mused. "At least, if I looked like my granddaughter here."

Hina glared at Haruka after she made that snide remark.

"Anyways," Haruka sat down next to Motoko. She took out a cigarette that she bought on the way back to the Hinata Sou, and lit it. "What has everyone decided?"

"My sister thought I was playing a joke on her when I told her about your immortality." Motoko said as she relayed the conversation that she had. "When I told her that I was being completely serious, she said that she would personally look into the matter. If it warranted, she might come up here personally to see if this is demonic in origin."

"Hmm." Haruka took a puff and then blew out a whiff of smoke. "Well, I guess that's what the Aoyama's are going to do about this." She then looked at Su. "And what about the Molmol's?"

"My sister is coming tomorrow to help hunt for the stone." Su said nodding. "Papa is going to be really happy if he got his hand on the stone. However, he won't announce it publicly until he has it in his possession. After all, he doesn't want to give the people any unnecessarily hope that their beloved king will be around for all eternity."

'Or depose him before that happened.' Haruka thought darkly before she spoke on the matter. "Well, it seems that our plans are in motion in finding this girl."

"Eh hem." Naru coughed into her first. "Actually, we are actually trying to find the stone directly instead of looking for this gypsy girl."

"Huh?" Haruka raised an eyebrow.

"You said it yourself right? You couldn't destroy the stone?" Naru explained. "And this gypsy girl could be anywhere. For all we know, she's not even on this planet." Naru then placed her hands on her hips and straightened up her back. "And since we can now take the idea that immortality is a fact, let's assume that she's some sort of, demon, goddess, or alien from a different realm that was simply passing by."

"Ah." Motoko finally catching on to what Naru was saying. "So, why try to find the girl who may not be here, and instead find the stone that is still here."

"And even if this girl is still here…" Su said bouncing around, and landed straight on Keitaro's back. Causing said man to gasp and panic. "And she has the stone… find the stone, you find her in that case right?"

"But what about me?" Hina complained. "Immortality is one thing. But look at me? What good would it do me if I had the stone?"

"Hmm. You have to look at the differences in power between the two stones." Su answered as she began jotting down on a blackboard. "If one stone was weak enough that simply throwing it down on the ground would cause it to shatter. Maybe, if you touch the Immortality stone…"

Hina's smile began to widen as she cut in. "Then it's possible that the other stone's effects would be nullified."

"Well, it's only a theory." Su reminded Hina.

"Doesn't matter." Hina eagerly smiled as she slammed her fist into her other hand. "Even if it only granted me immortality, I would have all eternity to making myself young and beautiful!"

"…right." Naru said at Hina's wishful thinking. "Anyways, so it's settled right? We get the stone, and everyone here would be happy about that right?"

"Well…" Kitsune lazily said as she sat back on the couch.

"Well?" Naru repeated. Unsure if she liked the tone of Kitsune's answer.

"I'm not sure if I would like this whole, living forever thing." Kitsune sighed as she picked up a magazine. "I mean sure, I'll always be my sexy self well into the future. But… what's going to happen when the novelty wears off? After all, what am I, or you, or everyone else here going to do fifty years from now, a hundred, a thousand?"

"Umm… ehh…" Naru was unsure how to answer her. "Well, you have all Eternity to decide what to do… ish."

"Heh. Like what I'm doing now?" Kitsune said as she circled a few horses in the sports magazine in her hand. "There is a reason why I'm thankful that I live at the Hinata Sou right now. And while it's all fun an games at, I guess you call the prime of my life…" Kitsune winked back at Naru. "It's doubtful I would, or even could do this forever."

"Eh…" Naru sounded as she could not see any fault in Kitsune's reasoning. So, she then turned to another resident and asked for her thought. "Um, Shinobu?"

"Anoo…" Shinobu glanced at Keitaro and blushed a bit. "While I wouldn't mind living forever with… sempai…" Her blush deepened after she said his name, well, title that she gave him. "But, my friends and family…"

Naru lowered her head defeated. Even she had serious doubts now about getting the stone for her own selfish reasons. However, as she looked at the idiot that had no choice, was it really her own selfish reasons for wanting it? She began to tell herself there is another reason. "And that's why we need the stone!"

Kanako frowned. She thought the conversation was helping destroy Naru's zeal in getting the stone, and in turn, eliminate any competition to her dream of living with Onii-chan, forever and for always. Alone even. However, Naru appeared renewed in her efforts to acquire it. "And if it isn't living forever… Narusegawa was it? Then for what reason would you want it?"

"To prevent other people from getting it of course." Naru grinned. "I mean, imagine the turmoil the world would be thrown into if some guy found the stone, and then it was splashed all over CNN or BBC."

Haruka contemplated Naru's change of direction. "They wouldn't know it at first. But once they discover that stone's power…"

"And worse…" Motoko grimaced as a disturbing thought entered her mind. "What if, the person that picked it up was some crazed vile disgusting madman bent on ruling the world?"

Keitaro grimaced as Motoko seemed to have fallen back into her man hating ways. Maybe. However, even he would concede that Motoko had a point. This stone, if in the wrong hands, could be very bad for the world.

"He could become quite powerful. Especially if he can literally not die." Haruka noted.

"That's more reason for papa to get it!" Su raised her fist into the air. "We have to make sure that doesn't happen!"

"Right!" Naru said. Even if she no longer believed that Su's father should be the 'one' to get it. "So we have to find this stone at all cost!"

Su nodded. "And I believe I know how." Su scampered just outside the room and revealed what appeared to be a chair, with an old hair stylish machine on top, with miscellaneous wires running to and from what appeared to be a computer readout display.

"Eh?" Kietaro, Motoko, and Kitsune all stared at the machine.

"What the heck is that?" Kitsune said in disbelief as she stared at the strange contraption.

"The magic that keeps Haruka, Kietaro, and that strange girl in black in their body must be giving off something." Su surmised as she plugged the machine into a wall outlet. "Some sort of paranormal energy discharge. This machine should be able to detect exactly what that energy is."

Naru then grabbed Keitaro's hand and quickly led him to the chair. It also forced Kanako to let go of Keitaro. "The sooner we get a reading, the faster Su can build that Immortality Stone Seeking Machine!"

"WAA?!" Keitaro cried out as he was quickly strapped into the machine. "Is this even safe?"

"What?" Naru devilishly smiled. "It isn't like you're going to die now."

Kanako glared angrily at the scene in front of her. Her dreams were being shattered by a bunch of fools. 'I cannot allow them to get the stone!'

-Meanwhile…

Pacific Ocean

The Winged Gypsy Girl had her long dove like wings spread out. Flapping every so often to make sure she maintained lift. It was a sunny day, with only the clear blue sky above her, and the clean crisp aqua sea below her, with the sunlight shimmering on its surface. As she watched the edges of the land appear over the horizon in front of her, she could not help but smile. "Japan! Here I come!"

* * *

-------End of Chapter 2

This is the end of Chapter 2. Long awaited like a LOT of my fics.

So in the meantime, I'm dedicating myself to finishing those updates. This just so happened to be the first. What's next on the agenda? Well, fics that haven't been updated in over year probably. Though yes, Fallen Blade (which hasn't hit it's 2nd year anniversary yet) is on that list as well.

Next… The search begins! Amalla comes to the Hinata Sou as well as Tsuruko. Will they be able to get the stone? And what about the other girl? Ara Ara! Until then, later!


End file.
